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FRIB Theory Alliance Charter

  1. Purpose. The FRIB Theory Alliance (TA) will foster advancements in theory related to diverse areas of FRIB science, optimize the coupling between theory and experiment, and rejuvenate the field by creating permanent theory positions across the country, attracting young talent through the national FRIB Theory Fellow Program, fostering interdisciplinary collaborations, and shepherding international initiatives.
  2. Membership. Members of the TA include scientists from national laboratories, universities, and other institutions across the nation as well as scientists based in foreign institutions. To become a member, scientists must first join the TA at fribtheoryalliance.org.
  3. Scope of charter. This charter establishes in broad outlines the Executive Board and Standing Committees associated with the TA.
  4. FRIB TA Executive Board (TA-EB). The TA-EB consists of the Director, Managing Director, and up to ten members drawn from the TA community. The TA-EB represents different subfields and institutions of FRIB-TA science. The TA-EB oversees project execution, integration, and coordination. It coordinates the project timetables and deliverables. It also makes recommendations to DOE regarding the scientific direction of the project and its budget. The TA-EB shall be accountable to the overall Nuclear Physics community for its operation and scientific direction.
  5. The TA-EB Director. The Director is responsible for the overall governance of the TA-EB. His/her other responsibilities are to:
    1. Appoint various committee chairs with approval of the TA-EB;
    2. Convene and leading meetings of the TA-EB;
    3. Represent the FRIB-TA to the broader community and be the liaison with experiment through the FRIB Users Group;
    4. Coordinate the FRIB Theory Visiting program.
  6. The TA-EB Managing Director. The Managing Director reports to the TA-EB Director. He/she shall be the PI of the DOE grant that funds the FRIB-TA. Together with TA-EB Director and TA-EB members, he/she should take care of all fiduciary responsibilities associated with maintaining the grant, and reporting.
  7. Meetings of TA-EB.
    1. The TA-EB shall meet yearly to assess the progress of the FRIB-TA.
    2. From time to time it may be necessary to engage the TA-EB in broader discussions.
    3. Minutes of the TA-EB meetings prepared by the TA-EB member designated by the Director are approved by TA-EB and posted on fribtheoryalliance.org.
  8. Procedures.
    1. No institution may have more than 2 members on the TA-EB at a given time.
    2. The director line is nominated within and elected by the TA-EB. The Director shall serve a 3-year term—one year as Director Elect, one as Director, and one as Past Director, with each term starting on January 1. The FRIB Director and DOE shall concur with the choice of Director of the TA-EB.
    3. The Managing Director shall serve 5-year terms, and shall be chosen by the FRIB Laboratory Director in coordination with DOE.
    4. Committee members, aside from the Managing Director, shall serve for a period of 3 years, staggered at up to 4 new members per year.
    5. Newly appointed members shall not serve as Standing Committee Chairs, nor as the Director.
    6. No member, other than the Managing Director, shall serve more than 2 consecutive terms, or 3 discontinuous terms.
    7. Filling TA-EB positions
      1. The TA-EB Director shall appoint one TA-EB member to be responsible for yearly solicitation of names from the community of candidates who could serve on the TA-EB board. From this list, the TA-EB board shall approve a slate of candidates for the open positions.
      2. The Director shall contact candidates to determine their willingness to serve on the TA-EB.
      3. The Director shall consult with the DOE Theory Program Manager to ensure appropriateness of the candidate list.
      4. The Director shall appoint a current member of the TA-EB as an Elections Coordinator who shall hold elections for open seats.
      5. Candidates with the highest vote count will become members of the TA-EB.
      6. Once elected, new members shall begin their service on June 1, and shall serve for a period of 3 years.
      7. One TA-EB position should be filled by an experimentalist.
      8. One TA-EB position should be filled by a theorist from outside the U.S.
      9. All PhD scientists that are TA members are eligible to vote for the TA-EB.
  9. Standing Committees.
    1. FRIB Theory Fellow Search Committee
      1. The FRIB Theory Fellow Search Committee will be responsible for the search of new FRIB Theory Fellows.
      2. The Chair shall be a member of the TA-EB, and the committee shall be appointed to ensure broad representation of the field.
      3. Appointments to the committee (up to 4 members) shall be the responsibility of the Chair of the search committee and shall be approved by the TA-EB.
      4. The Theory Fellow Search Committee members shall serve for a period of two years.
      5. The Theory Fellow Search Committee members shall establish rules for their operations that will be approved by the TA-EB.
    2. FRIB Bridge Faculty Search Committee
      1. The FRIB Bridge Faculty Committee will identify the optimum cases for implementing bridge positions and develop a protocol between the TA and host institutions. Members of this committee will be involved in the search process.
      2. Each Bridge Faculty appointment will likely require individualized arrangements between the FRIB-TA and the University partner engaged in hiring the bridge position. With this in mind, the FRIB-TA Managing Director shall have primary responsibility to negotiate terms of bridge positions with participating institutions.
      3. The TA-EB Director shall report progress on any bridge positions to the TA-EB and shall invite the chair of the partner University search committee to also present progress and plans to the TA-EB.
    3. FRIB Theory Education and Outreach Committee
      1. The FRIB Theory Education and Outreach Committee will oversee the educational initiative in advanced FRIB theory and coordinate outreach efforts.
      2. The chair shall be a member of the TA-EB, and the committee shall be appointed to ensure broad representation of the field.
      3. Appointments to the committee (up to 4 members) shall be the responsibility of the Chair of the Education and Outreach committee and shall be approved by the TA-EB.
      4. Education and Outreach Committee members shall serve for a period of two years.
      5. The Education and Outreach Committee shall establish rules for their operations that will be approved by the TA-EB.
      6. The Education and Outreach Committee provides the link to TALENT.
    4. FRIB Theory International Links Committee
      1. The FRIB Theory International Links Committee will work with current and potential international partners to coordinate theory efforts and strengthen TA.
      2. For the FRIB Theory International Links Committee, the chair shall be a member of the TA-EB, and the committee shall be appointed to ensure broad representation of the field.
      3. Appointments to the committee (up to 4 members) shall be the responsibility of the Chair of the International Links committee and shall be approved by the TA-EB.
      4. International Links Committee members shall serve for a period of two years.
      5. The International Links Committee shall establish rules for their operations that will be approved by the TA-EB.
  10. Ad hoc Committees. From time to time, the business of the FRIB-TA will require ad hoc committees. The Director shall establish these committees utilizing a TA-EB member as a chair. Terms of these committees shall be limited to one year, or until business of the ad hoc committee is concluded.
  11. Annual Meeting. A meeting of the FRIB-TA shall be held each year preferably in parallel to the Low Energy Community Meeting.
  12. Website and communications.
    1. The Theory Alliance website, called fribtheoryalliance.org, shall serve as a communication tool and as an outreach window into TA science. The website shall be supervised by a member of TA appointed by the TA-EB and maintained by a communication coordinator.
    2. The website shall provide a means to maintain a list of TA members and to add new members.
  13. Modification to the Rules. The TA-EB shall, with the concurrence of the FRIB Director, be empowered to modify its rules of operations as necessary for improved operations of the FRIB-TA.
  14. Removal from the TA-EB.
    1. A member of the TA-EB can be removed by 2/3-majority vote of the TA-EB. The seat will remain unfilled until the next election cycle.
    2. In the event of TA-EB membership vacancy, the vacated TA-EB seat will remain unfilled until the next election cycle.
    3. For every departing member under 14.a. or 14.b., an additional candidate shall be added to the list of candidates standing for election to the TA-EB during the next election cycle.
  15. Ratification. This Charter shall be accepted as a document providing guidance and rules of operation for the TA following a ratification vote in which 2/3 voting members favor adoption of the charter. The TA-EB shall administer the ratification vote. This charter was ratified on 31-March-2016 and amended on 1-June-2020.